Gary Neville said he was disgusted by what he saw from Chelsea in their defeat to Manchester City.
The Blues were heavily criticised in the wake of their 1-0 loss at the Etihad Stadium, which left them 25 points behind league leaders City.
Antonio Conte’s men failed to register a shot on target as Pep Guardiola’s City enjoyed a relatively straightforward afternoon against last year’s Premier League winners.
A grind out victory! #mancity pic.twitter.com/MK2FwUdIc2
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 4, 2018
Former Manchester United defender Neville, who was a co-commentator during the game, criticised Chelsea’s passive style on Sunday, calling their performance “unacceptable”.
Meanwhile, Neville’s fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp suggested Chelsea’s tactics were “anti-football” and “a crime against football”.
Conte hit back at the criticism after the game, saying “you must have knowledge to speak about tactics and not only to speak in a stupid way.”
? Jamie Redknapp suggested Chelsea’s tactics were “a crime against football”.Antonio Conte’s response: “I think that you must have knowledge to speak about tactics and not only to speak in a stupid way.” #mcfc #cfc pic.twitter.com/imnicj4YAb
— Liam Blackburn (@liamblackburn) March 4, 2018
But Neville, speaking on Monday Night Football ahead of United’s game against Crystal Palace, explained his comments.
He told Sky Sports: “Maybe we are (stupid). We’re not as good quality coaches as Antonio Conte, that’s for sure.
“But I don’t use the word embarrassing or unacceptable lightly. I’ve had to use it in the last week twice in co-commentary.
Back to London.
Thank you for your support today. #MCICHE pic.twitter.com/BRCVvhzs7a
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 4, 2018
“And yesterday I went quiet for two or three minutes while I was watching this. I don’t go quiet in co-commentary – Martin (Tyler) will tell you.
“I had to go quiet because I had to reflect on what I was seeing.
“I suppose it disgusts me. I can’t relate to it in any way, shape or form. These Chelsea players yesterday took a day off, they took a rest.
“Antonio Conte called us stupid, maybe he did, I don’t know the exact quotes, but he’ll have watched that this morning and been equally as disgusted.
Fellow pundit and former Liverpool winner Jamie Carragher agreed that Chelsea were not good enough and raised questions about Conte’s future.
“Do the players not want him there next season? Does the manager even want to be there next season if he’s sending a team out to perform like that, with tactics like that?”
